Legalizing Drugs In Canada

The topic of the legalization of illicit drugs is very controversial, inciting moral and conservative beliefs. Directly or indirectly, all Canadians have been affected by drugs, whether it be from the personal abuse of illicit substances, or merely the economic burden drugs have on society. Hundreds of millions of dollars are spent through Canada's attempts to eradicate drugs, but the efforts fail, inducing social disturbance and political chaos. The Canadian government is wasting money and resources on drug prohibition. Canadians who do not use recreational drugs will not use them because of the health risks; people who do use drugs would continue to use them regardless if they are illegal. Unregulated drug use can promote violence and unsafe

There were 28310 drug-related offences in Canada in 2016 (Canada: Rate of drug related offences, 2016). Prison overcrowding is a serious problem in Canada, mostly due to the number of drug offenders. This causes economic loss as this causes prisoners to be transferred between facilities. In 2010 to 2011, it cost $1.5 million to move 529 inmates. (Postmedia News, 2015). The government proceeds to build more prisons, using taxpayers' dollars, but the continuous surge of prisoners keeps exceeding the holding capacity (Postmedia News, 2015). Furthermore, studies show that the prison environment has become increasingly violent and inhumane due to the extensive number of inmates (Paperny, 2017). Legalizing drugs would appease the burden on the prison system, since drug offenders would no longer be incarcerated. The remaining prisoners would be left in a less cruel and a more reformative environment. To conclude, the legalization of drugs would aid the Canadian government in managing the prison

This is exemplified by Portugal's success after legalizing drugs. In 2001, Portugal decriminalized small possession and use of all drugs. This change led to a decrease in drug use, drug overdoses and drug-related deaths, and criminal penalties dropped by sixty per cent (Sienkiewicz, 2017). Prohibition may diminish the market for drugs, but an underground market emerges in which production and use continue. Underground markets, also known as "black markets", increase violence because participants cannot resolve disputes in the court of law, thus they turn to violence instead. Black markets also obstruct quality control, which causes more accidental poisonings and overdoses (Drugs, n.d). Due to prohibition raising drug prices, users have more of a reason to inject because this offers a greater "worth". Plus, prohibition generates restrictions on the sale of clean needles, as a result, any drug users therefore share contaminated needles, which can transmit many blood-borne diseases (Drugs, n.d). In conclusion, legalizing drugs would promote the health and safety of drug users. If users are aware of potential drug hazards and precautions, they can measure their dosages to obtain the desired effect